Under this policy the Council set out a settlement hierarchy as follows:
• Cambridge
• Town
• Rural Centre
• Minor Rural Centre
• Group Village
• Infill Village.
This hierarchy is essentially the same as the adopted hierarchy in the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan (2018), with the addition of Cambridge and Town.
Within the First Proposals, Linton is identified as a Minor Rural Centre, which is again the same as adopted policy. This suggests that Linton is a mid-range settlement within the hierarchy.
Although an older document, the Village Classification Report (2012) sets out the review of the village hierarchy that informed the adopted Local Plan. This states that in the assessment ‘Cottenham, Bar Hill, Linton, Melbourn and Gamlingay perform significantly better in the scoring process than the other existing Minor Rural Centres.’ Given the time that has passed, with the intervening development and projected proposals through the emerging Local Plan, this only serves to further enhance the sustainability of Linton. An assessment should be undertaken to support the emerging Local Plan to inform a review of the settlement hierarchy and it is considered such an assessment would conclude that Linton should be recognised for elevation in the hierarchy to a Rural Centre.
Linton benefits from a breadth of services and facilities, which include but are not limited to, two primary schools, two secondary schools, doctors surgeries, a library, a bank, a Post Office, a pharmacy, a Co-op convenience store, several local shops and pubs/restaurants/takeaways, a village hall, a recreation ground with sports pitches and two churches. To the south of the A1307 there are also further services including a petrol station and various other premises at The Grip Industrial Estate including a gym and further shops, along with Linton Zoo. The village is also served by an excellent bus service providing services 7 days a week to Cambridge and Haverhill. On weekdays these services are approximately every half an hour.
All of these services and facilities would be accessible from the Land north of Cambridge Road, Linton site by foot or bicycle. The site is therefore a highly sustainable location for development.
Linton has also been subject to transport improvements through the Greater Cambridge Partnership Transport Projects. In particular, the Linton Greenway will ‘be an active travel route to make it easier for walkers, cyclists and horse riders to travel from Linton into Cambridge’. This work is ongoing and includes the following benefits to residents of Linton:
• Green active travel into and out of Cambridge for walkers, cyclists and horse-riders.
• Easy and safe travel to workplaces, local schools and colleges, shops and transport hubs.
• Links to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the Sawston and Melbourn Greenways and the Chisholm Trail.
• Wider existing footways and verges to provide a path for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders (where feasible), separated from the carriageway.
• Improved footbridge and underpass on A11, including adding ramps and stud lights.
These works will therefore further enhance the sustainability of Linton, improving sustainable transport opportunities for residents, with the Land north of Cambridge Road, Linton site particularly well positioned to benefit from these enhancements.
Within the Greater Cambridge Local Plan: First Proposals Sustainability Appraisal (October 2021) appraisal of spatial options, note is made of Linton benefitting from services and facilities such as schools and doctors surgeries, at a comparable level alongside Great Shelford and Sawston. Both of these settlements are Rural Centres within the First Proposals, and it queried how Linton can be listed alongside these settlements as of equal service and facility provision, but at a lower position in the hierarchy. It is clear therefore that Linton should be classified as a Rural Centre.
Further commentary on this point is made in relation to the rural southern cluster below.
Furthermore, even as a Minor Rural Centre, Linton is not directed with any growth through allocations as part of the First Proposals. Despite the settlement hierarchy categorisation, Linton is clearly a highly sustainable settlement appropriate for growth. Taylor Wimpey suggest that the Council should reconsider their distribution of proposed allocation sites so that the best reflect the sustainability of settlements within the authority area. There should therefore be some housing delivery through the emerging Local Plan in sustainable villages such as Linton.